Water-tube boiler.



E. V. VARCOE.

WATER TUBE BOILER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 6. 191a.

Patented Apr. 29, 1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

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E. V. VARCOE.

WATER TUBE BOILER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 6. I918 4 SHEETSSHEET 2- 1 V4. 7 Q 5 m k i 46 E22? V E. v. VARCOE.

WATERTUBE BOILER.

APPLICATION HLED MAY 6. 1918. mmfim Patented Apr. 29,1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

A v 36 Q L Q (Q) Jgg .476 J0 @Hoznux E. V. VARCOE.

WATER TUBE BOILER. APPLICATION FILED MAYG. I918.

Patented Apr. 29, 1919.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

V; VARGOE, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

WATER-TUBE BOILER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 2%, EH9.

Application filed may d. 1918. Serial Ito. 232.732.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, EARL V. VARCOE, a" citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Water'Tube Boilers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to steam generators, and more particularly to generators of the water tube type especially designed for use in connection with motor vehicles.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a steam generator of compact form, comparatively large capacity, and high efficiency. Further objects are to produce a generator embodying improved details of construction and to provide means for read ily cleaning the outside of the tubes so as to remove any soot, or the like, which may have accumulated upon them. A still further object is to provide an improved feed water heater associated with the generator and contained in. the same casing, such casing conforming with the conventional outline of the usual motor vehicle hood.

In order that the invention may be readily understood, reference is had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and in which Figure l is a vertical section through my improved generator, such section being taken substantially on the line 1-1 of Fig. 7

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view illustrating my improved means for cleaning the soot from the tubes; 1

Fig. 3 is a transverse section through the generator, taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of Kid the arrow;

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are details of the tube cleaning device;

Fig. l is a front elevation of my improved generator with the front wall of the casing and header caps removed;

Fig. 8 is a front elevation on a reduced scale, showing the outline of the front cast in complete;

%ig. 9 is a rear view, illustrating one-half of the outline of the rear casting;

Fig. 16 is a horizontal section through the complete generator and water heater, such section being taken substantially on the line 10-10 of Fig. 7

Fig. 11 is a sectional detail on an enlargedscale, showing the method of securing the header caps in position; and,

Figs. 12 and 13 are sectional views illustrating modified forms of caps which may be employed.

Referring to the drawings in detail, my Improved boiler or steam generator comprises vertically arranged front and rear headers or castings 1 and 2. As shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the front casting comprises a plurality of circular drums or sections 3, united by inter-communicating passages 5. Open spaces 1 are formed between the various sections and passages, as shown, for a purpose hereinafter described.

The rear casting 2 presents an unbroken inner face having no openings, but comprises a plurality of drums or sections 4-, similar to the sections 3 of the front casting and similarly located. These sections are connected by inter-communicating passages 6, corresponding to the passageways 5.

The front and rear open ends of the drums or sections 3 and 4 are closed by means of header caps 7 and 8, respectively. Referring particularly to Fig. 11, it will be seen that these caps. such as 8, are of convex form and test against packing rings 12, supported on shoulders formed in the drums, such as 4. Each cap, such as8, is held in position by means of a ring 10, having a screw-threaded engagement with the inside of the drum and provided on its outer edge with notches.

adapted to receive a wrench, or the like, by means of which the rings may be screwed up tight. If it is desired to increase the capacity of the boiler. caps 8 or 8*, of greater convexity, as shown in Figs. 12 and 13, may be employed. Extending across the bottom of the front casting 1 is a mud drum 13 connected with the lower sections thereof by means of passageways ll, and extending across the bottom of the rear casting E is a similar mud drum 16, connected with the sections of such casting by means of passageways 15.

Extending between the corresponding drums or sections of the front and rear headers are groups of water tubes 14, having their ends expanded into or otherwise secured to the inner walls of the front and rear castings, these castings thus, in elfect, constituting tube sheets.

From an inspection of Figs. 3 and t, it

will be seen that these groups of tubes are arranged vertically in staggered relation, upper and lower rows of three groups each, with anintermediate row of two groups being shown. The tubes in each group may be arranged in any desired or efiicient manner.

The feed water heater which is combined with the boiler comprises four groups of tubes, arranged two on each side, such tubes having their ends set into water heating sections of the front and rear header members. The front casting or header comprises water heating sections 17, 19, 21, and 23, the sections 17 and 19 being connected by means of a passageway 25, and the sections 21 and 23 being connected by means of a passageway 27. The sections 17 to 21, inclusive, are themselves supported and rigidly united to the main front casting by means of webs or brackets 29. The rear water heating sections are designated by the numerals 18, 20, 26, and 28. The water heating tubes are designated by the numeral 30, and as shown, they extend parallel with the tubes 14 of the generator, being preferably somewhat smaller.

Water enters the boiler unit through a pipe 31, and is delivered directly into the rear section 26 of the feed water heater. The water flows forwardly through the tubes 30 to the front section 17, thence upwardly through the passageway 25 to the section 19, thence rearwardly through the tubes 30 to the section 18, thence through a connecting pipe 32 to the rear section 28, thence forwardly through the tubes 30 to section 23,

thence upwardly through the passage 27 to section 21, thence rearwardly through the tubes 30 to section 20. from whence it flows through a pipe 33 to the rear mud drum 16, and thence upwardly into the main boiler sections.

Steam is taken off from the central upper section of the rear header by means of a pipe 34, which is carried downwardly through the flue hereinafter described, formed between the rear header and the rear wall of the casing, as shown in Fig. 1. The pipe 34 is then carried forwardly underneath the boiler, as shown at 35 in Fig. 1, until it rests upon the front mud drum 13. There a return bend is formed and the pipe led back to the rear at 37. From this point it turns upwardly in the above described flue and extends to the top of the casing where a second return bend 38 is formed. From this point the pipe extends downwardly again to the level of the rear mud drum, and thence rearwardly to the engine, as indicated at 39. Thus, it will be seen that the steam is led through several lengths of pipe extending underneath the boiler and up and down the flue at the rear of the boiler before it is delivered to the engine. These pipes, especially those underneath the boiler, are exposed to an intense heat from the burner and the steam is therefore highly superheated.

In practice, the entire boiler unit, includin the superheater and feed waterheater, is lnclosed in a casing 40, conforming to the general shape of a conventional motor vehicle hood. This casing is lined with heat insulating material 41, such as asbestos. Any suitable form of liquid fuel burner 42 is disposed underneath the tubes of the boiler and is supported in a pan 44. This pan is in turn carried by hooks 48, which engage over the cross beams 45 and 46, on which the boiler unit is supported and which are provided with screw-threaded lower ends 49 which pass through ears 50, secured to the pan. The products of combustion pass upwardly between the staggered groups of tubes and thence over the rear header downwardly through the space between such header and the casing, and are finally dis- 7 ing beyond the casin 40, as shown in Fig. 7.

11 order to keep tie outside of the water tubes free from accumulations of soot, and the like, I provide an improved cleaning device shown in Figs. 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6. One of these cleaning devices is provided for each group of tubes and a description of one will therefore suflice for all. Each such device comprises a pair of plates 51, spaced slightly apart and united by rivets or by means of spot welding, as indicated at 55, in Fig.6. These plates are preferably polygonall in shape, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and are provided at diagonally opposite corners with openings 56. Surrounding these openings and securely held between the plates are spacing rings 54. Each pair of plates 51 is provided with a set of holes 53, corresponding in position with the tubes of the group. such holes being slightly larger than the external diameter of the tubes, so that such tubes can pass freely through the holes. Surrounding and snugly gripping each tube is a resilient split ring 52, the rings of each group of tubes being embraced between a pair of plates 51 as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2. It will be understood that the plates 51 and rings 52 are placed in position on the tubes, as shown in Fig. 1. before the boiler is assembled,

and it will be apparent that by moving the plates 51 and the accompanying set of split rings lengthwise of the tubes, the rings Wlll serve to scrape the outside of the tubes and aoaaaa thoroughly clean them. In order to move the plates and rings, I provide a pair of operating rods 57, terminating in handles 58, the ends of the rods being screw-threaded and the openings 56 in the plates being correspondingly threaded to receive them.

y reference to Figs. 3 and 7, it will be seen that the corners of the plates 51, having the openings 56, project beyond the outline of the circular drums or sections 3 so that the operating rods 57. may be inserted through the openings l formed in the front casting, and screwed into the openings 56.

Each cleaning device may then be reciprocated as desired to clean the tubes. Itwill be understood that the operating rods 57 may be attached in turn to each of the clean ing devices, and thus all of the several groups of tubes thoroughly cleaned. In order to do this, it is only necessary to remove the front wall of the casing or hood.

What I claim is:

1. A steam generator comprising front and rear headers,.each consisting of an integral structure having a plurality of interconnected sections, one header having openings therethrough between the sections and the other header being continuous between the sections, groups of Water tubes connecting the corresponding sections of each header, a casing inclosing all of said headers and tubes and spaced from the last-mentioned header to provide a flue, and a burner disposed beneath said tubes.

2. A steam generator unit comprising a pair of spaced headers, each header having a plurality of inter-connected generator sections, said sections arranged in horizontal upper, intermediate, and lower rows, the intermediate row having fewer sections than the upperand lower rows, water heating sections disposed symmetrically at each end of said intermediate row of steam generating sections, groups of water tubes connecting all corresponding sections of each header,,a feed water inlet to one of said feed water heating sections, and passageways for causing water to flow through all of the water heating sections and tubes, at both sides of the unit, and thence to the steam generating sections, and a burner disposed beneath said groups of tubes.

3. A steam generator comprising a pair of vertically arranged spaced headers, each header having a. plurality of inter-connected generator sections, a mud drum extending transversely of the generator along the bottom of each header and communicating with a plurality of sections thereof, water heater sections also carried by each of said headers, pipes connecting said latter sections together, groups of water tubes connecting the corresponding sections of each header, means for supplying water to one of said water heater sections, and means for delivering water from another of said water heater sections to one of said mud drums.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

EARL V. VARCUE. 

